For the Love of… Ryan Gosling, Pt. I

Ryan Gosling. I’d call him the breakout star of 2011 for sure. We all loved him in The Notebook, but this year, he has some classy movies up for sale, like Crazy, Stupid, Love and Drive and The Ides of March (written, directing, and starring the fabulous George Clooney!) all of which got a ‘Fresh’ rating on rottentomatoes.com (‘Fresh’ is 60% or more critics liking it. I think Crazy, Stupid, Love got a 76%, the lowest out of the three).

Did you know he’s also in a band? That’s right. It’s an inde band called Dead Man’s Bones, and he plays guitar, bass guitar, and sings. Check them out! Not only does he act, but he plays instruments and sings too!

Side Note: I’ve only actually seen Crazy, Stupid, Love. Drive is rated R and I plan to go see it, though it’s going to take some convincing to the parents, and The Ides of March comes out in October. This is just a preview for what’s to come.

This year, Ryan Gosling when from Indie specialist to total blockbuster rock star. Well, only the good blockbusters. Some like to compare Ryan Gosling to Ryan Reynolds. Lets see… Crazy, Stupid, Love vs. Green Lantern and Drive vs. The Change-up? Yeah there’s no contest. Ryan Gosling got the better pick out of the two.

Love and Stupid, two poster with Ryan Gosling

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy, Stupid, Love: Just a really ironic chaotic scramble of things that makes anyone laugh. In the middle of it all is the classy Ryan Gosling. I think is was quite a perfect role for him. He gets to parade around in his suit and pick up girls. Hello, he’s hot! Ryan Gosling can make any girl drop dead.

So with his really classy shoes and perfect character, Ryan Gosling stole the show in Crazy, Stupid, Love. A great pick for him!

Drive: From a Rotten Tomatoes (91%) and IMDb standpoint, this looks like a winner. And an Oscar nominee. It’s like classy violence (I’m seeing the pattern that Ryan Gosling is a pretty classy man here) but with a love story twined in. He’s a stunt driver for films (got me hooked right there already) and by night, he’s a getaway driver for guys pulling heists (yeah that’s a pretty hardcore combo right there). Then he falls in love with his neighbor and well, there’s an entire mess.

With a cast of great rising stars like Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston, and Christina Hendricks, this has got to be a quality film. The preview says it all:

He’s beating people with a hammer in slow motion. This has got to be good.

The Ides of March: This is released in October and already has a Rotten Tomatoes score of 81%. We have Ryan Gosling, an extremely attractive, talented, classy male AND George Clooney, another extremely attractive, talented, classy male. It’s a political drama/thriller written, directed, and starring George Clooney. It looks like one of those classy movies that Ryan Gosling does, and may as well be an Oscar nominee.

So this is only part one. I will do a follow-up post on the talented Ryan Gosling once I see Drive and The Ides of March.

Until then, keep reading! Having a full period for Visual Communications for school means I usually get done with assignments in the first 5 minutes and use the rest of the time to blog.

So expect a lot more from me!

Post-Summer Mayhem-ism

Finally.

My summer movie is done. After 18 filming days, and a glorious 1 hour movie. Sure, it’s funny and all, but it’s not my greatest work. It depresses me that there are other kids my age who are rich and get fabulous cameras and win festivals.

But apparently my feat is pretty impressive here in Olympia. There are over 300 coming to see it in the festival Friday and the Olympian (local newspaper) interviewed me for a story. Not bad!

I haven’t watched a lot of movies since I’ve just been editing. But I did finish The Departed, and I watched Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park (just for fun, love it), Kill Bill Vol. 1, Kill Bill Vol. 2, Pulp Fiction, and Se7en.

To start things off, I LOVE MARTIN SCORSESE. I am a very squeamish person, and I can’t stand blood, but he (and Tarantino) make blood… Fun! Sadly, I watched the TV version of Goodfellas, but I was hooked on the beginning:

“As far back as I could remember, I always wanted to be a gangster” -Slam trunk, music, freeze frame, title. BAM. That is the best title sequence I’ve seen. It just… Grabs you!!! My gosh, that is one masterpiece. Scorsese had my respect from there on out.

Taxi Driver was ok. Kind of boring, but a masterpiece none the less. I watched it after Goodfellas so my mind was on gangsters not pimps.

And then there’s The Departed. Wow. Fantastic ending. So many good lines worth repeating, except they’re sprinkled with F-bombs. But it’s so acceptable when Mark Wahlberg says it. Anyways, great movie. Violent. Love it.

Schindler’s List. Words cannot describe it. An epic movie that hits you right in the heart, POW. I was in awe the whole time. As far back as I could remember (tee hee, Goodfellas) I’ve always had a fascination with World War II. Spielberg answered all my questions. I didn’t cry in the entire movie UNTIL the saved Jews made Oskar the rings. Then, I just burst out hysterically. Isn’t it amazing how a movie can do that to you? Yeah, that’s Spielberg for you.

Se7en. Just finished it today. Very nice. David Fincher never disappoints. And it’s true what my film friends said: Watch it, and for the rest of the week, you just feel like life sucks. Clever story.

And the finale: QUENTIN TARANTINO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Warning: I only watched the TV version of Kill Bill, and trust me, I plan to watch the DVD for extra gore ;).

Well I watched Kill Bill. Hearing that it was a kung-fu/samurai/anime/spaghetti western movie made me skeptical at first, but within the first five minutes I was hooked. It was so interesting and so great! There is… There is no words to describe it. You just need to go see it. And it’s so cool to see a lead female fighting. Uma Thurman is WINNING in this movie. Even better, they’re making a Kill Bill Vol. 3 in 2013.

Some people say “How will there be a third one?!” but here’s my take: The daughter of the black girl who The Bride killed is going to get revenge on The Bride sinse she watched her kill her mother… Ooooooh, story!!

Pulp Fiction was amazing too, but I didn’t think it was as good as Kill Bill. I know, I know, shame on me! But I still LOVED Pulp Fiction. I mean, come on. It’s a random mesh of stuff that just works! Best screenplay ever! Hit men and hamburgers. Nuff said.

So, soon to come: An early look at possible Oscar booters. Stay tuned!!

Teenage Movie Clichés: Theater Etiquette, and Why I Date Classy Nerds

Society looks at teens as if they are the criminals, our generation plagued with immaturity.

For the record, I am a pretty normal teen. I attend football games, and I’m not one who has those anti-prom parties. I am popular and I have friends from all high school cliques. I am just mature.

I agree with society. Here’s a little story with some common teenage clichés and why I look down upon them:

Just this week, I was invited to go see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2. I, being a Harry Potter fan, was excited since I hadn’t had time to see it due to filming my summer movie. So I went.

Here we start with Teenage Theater Cliché #1: Group Dates

When teenagers go to a movie, you go with dates, or dates in a big group.

So true. It happens all the time. When I go with a group, my boyfriend sometimes goes. But, I’m there to watch the movie. I didn’t just pay $10 to go make out. Some people…

So anyways, I’m here, and there’s a big group of stereotypical teens. I didn’t know I would be tagging along with the jock group. I would classify my social class as all-around-popular-nerd-who-is-friends-with-anyone type. So I’m here, without my date, and I just observe. The group all has gone to Panda Express, because that’s what teens enjoy apparently. I go to Starbucks and grab a bistro box thing (I do not enjoy Chinese food). Let’s just say I was the laughing-stock of the table when I got back. Everyone commented on my ‘sophistication’. Apparently, sophistication is not ‘in’ right now. Oh, jocks…

Teen Theater Cliché #2: Forking Food

It is a teen rule that if you go to the movies, you must buy fast food (the largest amount) and fork it down with your buddies.

I find this semi-repulsive. Since you are now on a ‘date’, you have to impress your date by shoveling food that you may or may not even like down your throat just to impress the opposite sex. I’ll stick to some real food, thank you very much.

So dinner is done, and proper protocol states that teens must obnoxiously parade around the mall. The group goes into shops and tries on clothing, taking those cheesy mirror and phone pictures in the dressing room. Or screw with the boys, being rowdy and laughing in the stores. It’s like my generation enjoys going into the store to play with merchandise and leaving a trail behind, not even willing to pay or pick up their mess. I apologize as the check out clerks cringe when we walk in. Oh, and the stores they go to… It HAS to be Spencer’s or Fuego with all the risqué toys so they can all giggle. I will just wait outside, thank you.

Teenage Theater Cliché #3: Destroy the Store

All teens must go shopping before a movie. They must enter the store, touch every piece of merchandise, take unflattering blurry cell phone photos, or go to the risqué stores and mess around and giggle, then leave without buying a thing.

I find this so depressing. WHY. I hardly have an answer for why my fellow friends do this.

At last, we head to the movies. At this time, everyone goes in to find a seat while I grab a bottle of water and some Airheads all by my lonesome. After all, I was a loner on this date. I enter the theater, and yes, everyone is in the back row. The biggest cliché of them all. I groan and pull myself to the top. The poor people in the theater look at our group and know that this movie will not end well. I practically want to die.

Teenage Theater Cliché #4: Back Row, Baby!

All teens must sit in the back row at the movie theater. No exceptions.

I HATE THIS. Why spend $10 to go see a movie, and sit in the back row, when the whole theater is open?! And this brings us to…

WHY I DATE CLASSY NERDS:

I am not the girl to go for a jock. I find jocks repulsive: they’re big and testosterone driven, they like the stupidest things, and even worse, they don’t give a crap about grades or schoolwork. Sure, I’ll go for a boy on the golf or tennis team, because they’re smart and sophisticated. And, they have manners. I will use my boyfriend as an example: He gets straight A’s, plays many instruments, plays tennis and soccer, dresses well, and isn’t a total nutjob (I find that boys who play Call of Duty are much cooler than those who play World of Warcraft). He respects my opinion. I told him about how I hate teenage movie clichés. He knows that if we go to a movie, we will not goof off, we will be mature, and we WILL NOT sit in the back row and make out, text, or run around back there. I AM THERE TO WATCH THE MOVIE. And you know what? My classy nerd is the same way. We find joy in the good stuff, not the clichés.

So back to the theater. The lights go down, and what do you know? The cellphones are out, and we are just entering the previews. I hate cellphones in the theater. You know that little message they give you? Yeah, the one to silence your phone and NOT use it? Yeah, how about you follow that for once. It’s so distracting to have little lights in your vision. It blocks the immersion of the theater experience.

Teenage Theater Cliché #5: Text Fest

Any time a teen is in a movie theater, they must not turn off their phones, and they must text through the entire movie, even if they’re texting the person sitting right next to them.

Why can’t some people just not sure their phones for two hours? If you really can’t, then that’s just sad. Texting in a theater is wrong. DON’T DO IT.

So as if the texting wasn’t enough, everyone has to talk. And run around. Yes, I said run. They run across the back row from friend to friend, letting them know about a text they just received. At this point, I’m just wondering why they have to run to the person to tell them about a text. Why can’t they just text the person? By now the poor innocent people who went their to watch the movie are looking back at us with that annoyed look, and I am just about ready to die. Also, when anyone eats their candy, they rustle the bag A TON. And when someone hears that bag rustle, they must fight with the person for the candy. So not only do you have the running, you have the candy fighting, which is usually a full-out brawl.

Teenage Theater Cliché #6: The Wild Bunch

If you are in a theater and need to tell your friend something right at that moment, you must get to them as fast as possible and make as much noise as possible. And when someone opens up candy, everyone must go in an all out brawl to take it from them.

Really? Why would you HAVE to run to someone in a theater to tell them something that instant? I mean, watching a movie is only two small hours of your life! Can you really not be quiet for two hours? And then the candy thing. The person who bought the candy DESERVES the candy! To all those people who fight over it: Why didn’t you just buy your own candy in the first place?! The whole fight thing is ridiculous. 

Now, we are at the point where I contemplate moving seats. But it gets worse. I look from side to side and see all the couples ALL OVER each other. It’s been the age-old written rule that couples MUST make out in the movie theater (hence sitting in the back row) and that cliché has ruined movie dates. I am not allowed to go see a movie with a boy alone JUST because of that cliché!

Teenage Theater Cliché #7: PDA

All teens who have a date must make out at the movie theater. No exceptions.

I am proud to say that I have never kissed a boy in a movie theater. It’s offensive to others. Plus, why would you do that in a movie theater? You’re wasting your $10.

Just when I think it couldn’t get worse, it does: 20 minutes in, everyone leaves. They just LEAVE. You pay $10 to watch 20 minutes of a movie, then leave because your boyfriends are in the mall and don’t feel like coming in to watch the movie. That’s just sad. Is that your social life right there? You have to skip movies to hang out with boys? Shame.

Teenage Theater Cliché #8: Date Ditch

If a teenager’s boyfriend/girlfriend cannot come into the movie but is in the area, the person who is their girlfriend/boyfriend must exit the movie to meet them.

I don’t even know the drive behind this one because I would NEVER do this! It’s so… I have no idea. Why? I mean, if that’s the only time you have to hang out with your boyfriend, consider not having a boyfriend at all.

So, it’s me and a handful of people who don’t have dates there finishing the movie. When it ends, of course no one says for the credits, so I have to skip those. We head outside where the boys and girls are giggling and acting crazy. It’s like girls just don’t know how to act around guys. And guys… The jocks don’t have a clue about girls in general. They run around squealing, the girls yelling “Oh I hate you!” at the guys (Why would you hate them if you’re dating them?). The jock trying to act all cool, yelling “Remember that time…” loudly to each other. What is up with yelling everything? I don’t get it. They take blurry cellphone photos, they perform spectacular feats, all trying to impress the opposite sex. I just sit quietly on a chair with my iPod touch, praying that there is wifi nearby.

Teenage Theater Cliché #9: Boys and Girls Together

When the movie is done, all teens must hang together for at least a half an hour while waiting for rides. They must yell and do ridiculous things.

A lot of girls don’t know how to act around boys. Luckily, I have a brother and all my cousins are boys, so I’m not all flimsy and jello-y when it comes to talking to a guy. They’re human, right?! No need to make a fool of yourself.

Finally, I get a ride home and I’m ready to relax. But it doesn’t stop there. You have to Facebook your night. I just wrote: “Harry Potter. Wow.” meaning both ‘wow what a great movie’ and ‘wow my friends need to grow up’. Within seconds everyone likes my status. I scroll down and read inside jokes that the others post, like “It’s a lightswitch 😉 ahaha. Such a good night!”. No one even knows they went to a movie, but it’s Facebooked I guess. Because everyone likes it. And within minutes, all the blurry photos of unflattering dresses and boys showing off are uploaded. I must like these things, or else it won’t be known that I actually got out of the house.

Teenage Theater Cliché #10: Facebook Friends

When you get back from a movie, you must post a status of where you were at, post any inside jokes that were formed, and post all blurry cellphone photos.

Sure, it’s fun to update your status, but please don’t post inside jokes no one gets. Or cellphone photos that no one wants to look at. I mean, have some common courtesy.

So, That just about sums it up. My generation has ruined going to the movies. Let’s hope that I find a crowd similar to mine in high school. And Let’s just hope I never follow those teenage theater clichés.

I Ate Air With a Spoon While Nerds Ceased Their Riot

Just to let you know, I FINALLY finished Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and sent it back to Netflix after having it for five straight months (I’m sure many angry nerds wanted to torch my house) and I must say, It was really good. Very powerful with those iconic huge Peter Jackson-esque pans across the landscape.

So before that, I watched One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. What an amazing movie. I love how Jack Nicholson is completely normal, and helps the mental patients. It was just so, so, SO happy until the end. What the heck. Billy died, the evil nurses gave McMurphy lobotomy and pretty much ripped out his soul, so the Chief indian guy had to suffocate him. I was on the verge of tear. Those evil, evil people! Overall, it was beautifully worked out and amazing how that little movie made me feel things so big. It’s so cool how movies can movie you like that. That’s all I can say.

Then I watched Up In The Air. LOVE IT.

It has that minimalist feeling like The Social Network that I love so much. And, I love going to airports and traveling. I could totally relate to Ryan Bingham. Here, you have George Clooney’s charm (attractive even if he’s 50. Yes, I think so!) and relaxing voice, Vera Farmiga’s great acting, Anna Kendrick’s enthusiastic and clean personality, a well written screenplay, some delicious cinematography (I could just eat it all up with a spoon), some absolutely magnificent editing, and this is all conducted by Jason Reitman. Did I mention that the opening song and title sequence is genius?

I have already watched it twice in one week. I have that weird thing where I feel like I need to watch a movie more than one… I don’t know. Must be a filmmaker thing.

But anyways. Up In The Air is AMAZING. It’s just so… Yummy. I can’t really describe it. Like a feast for your eyes. And your ears. That screenplay is so well written. Some fantastic quotes, like:

(This is when Ryan talks about getting 10,000,000 miles)

Ryan Bingham: “And they put your name on the side of a plane.”
Natalie Keener: “Men get such hardons from putting their names on things. You guys don’t grow up. It’s like you need to pee on everything.”

(Ryan on getting through airport security)

Ryan Bingham: “Never get behind old people. Their bodies are littered with hidden metal and they never seem to appreciate how little time they have left. Bingo, Asians. They pack light, travel efficiently, and they have a thing for slip on shoes. Gotta love ’em.”
Natalie Keener: “That’s racist.”
Ryan Bingham: “I’m like my mother, I stereotype. It’s faster.”

(The company is changing to firing over the internet, which Ryan doesn’t like. Natalie’s boyfriend had just broken up with her, so Ryan and Alex are helping her through it.)

Alex Goran: “He broke up with you by text message?”
Ryan Bingham: “Wow. That’s kind of like getting fired over the Internet.”

As you can see, it’s a total dramady. I love it. Go and watch it.

Then I watched An Education. It’s sweet. And kind of creepy. But sweet. David is a charming man and Jenny is mature enough for him, but he’s such a cheating, lying, horrible guy! I mean, wow, date a girl and get ENGAGED to her while you’re still married?! Think man, think. It was a good movie still. Very nice story and simple camera angles. Cute. I’d recommend it.

So yes. I’ve been using my time wisely.

You Can’t Say “That brings me back…” When You’re Only 15 (or can you?)

My family was never really into movies.

Still, today, my dad hates going to the movie theater, and I have no idea why.

But one thing my family made me do every year was watch every award show. Being in my young years, not even a teen, I relied on what I had seen to win the Oscars. This usually consisted of Pirates of the Caribbean, or any movie in the animated section since I was way to young to sit down and watch any rated R feature.

But recently, I watched Crash, part of There Will Be Blood, and part of The Departed (WHICH I AM FINISHING TOMORROW!) and well, isn’t it funny how some things trigger memory? I decided to write this post from the view of my young self watching the Oscars, and what I felt then.

I dig through my memories, and the first thing I remember is the time leading up to the 2006 Academy Awards. My mom would order 3 or 4 of the movies nominated on DVD (No Nextflix?! Oh my!) and watch them with some friends. What I remember about one night is sneaking into the room where my parents and some others were watching these movies. My friend and I were just trying to play one of those online games that 9 year olds love playing. I remember hearing the movie, and there were a lot of loud noises and words I didn’t know. My friend was practically going insane because she kept hearing something called an “F-Bomb”, which I didn’t know what that was at the time. We were soon discovered and shooed out of the room.

Today, I’m 99% sure they were watching Crash in that room. We still have the DVD.

And now we skip ahead to my 10-year-old self and the 2007 Academy Awards. I remember my relatives saying that The Departed was fantastic and that it was going to win. For this show, I actually sat down and watched it.

And here comes a defining moment in my life.

When Martin Scorsese’s name was announced for Best Director, I knew it was a big deal. I had no clue why, but it was a big deal. It sent chills down my spine. I was so happy for him- yet I had no clue why. Everyone in our house watching were talking about how big of a deal it was. And then he got Best Picture. Again, so happy, no clue why. Each time, that theme from The Departed played. That fabulous tango.

And when I watched The Departed and heard that little tango, everything flooded back, like it was hidden. A secret drive in my love of filmmaking that had been buried and rediscovered again. It’s so weird how a little song can bring all that back.

I watched again in 2008, and just asked my mom about each winner, and if the movie was good. I mainly just remember hearing There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men being said over and over again.

I watched part of There Will Be Blood at NYFA, and it was so good.

2009 was when I started to kind of care about movies. My parents were just on the edge of letting me see Slumdog Millionaire, but they didn’t let me watch it. All the names nominated sound very familiar now, and I just remember how Slumdog Millionaire had only Indian people. Then I watched the Today show, and I learned what a good indie movie is: “A little movie with a lot of heart”.

That is what stuck to me: You need a little movie with a lot of heart. I will never forget that.

And in 2010, I was very into movies, but just a little too young to see the movies, again. So I just watched, and hoped that Avatar would crash and burn (because I KNEW that movie was wayyy too talked up). And it did. I learned the story about how Kathryn Bigelow is James Cameron’s ex-wife, and how she beat him with a movie that was “A little movie with a lot of heart”, and how she was the very first woman to win the award for best director. And beat him for best picture.

From there on I vowed that I would be a movie director, and win that same award.

Finally, in 2011, I convinced my parents that I, a mature 14-year-old, should not be deprived of my education, and I should be able to see rated R movies. They were reluctant, but now, I can pretty much watch anything that’s not a raunchy, crazy, almost X comedy or crazy insane who knows what movie.

And the rest is history.

So you see? Things can take you back when you’re only 15.